Excerpts from a review from the Portland Press Herald - Maine Sunday Telegram, Sunday May 14, 2006

Maine Jazz Festival Series Begins on a High Note

The local jazz scene has definitely been showing signs of life this spring. Particularly encouraging is a new concert series in Yarmouth.

The Maine Jazz Festival Series opened Friday night, and while many of the faces on stage may have been familiar to regular concert-goers, the venue and the spirit of the evening was fresh.

Held at the First Universalist Church, an acoustically friendly hall with pretty good sight-lines, the concert featured two groups of good musicians playing the type of mainstream jazz that has broad appeal.

The Stan Strickland Quartet from Boston began the evening with a set highlighting the considerable talents of its leader. Opening on flute with a tune rife with Brazilian flavors, Strickland established a strong stage presence as he wove a melody through the insistent rhythmic context established by his band.

Strickland offered a fine tenor sax solo that segued at the end into an all-too-brief "tag," as he called it, of Pharaoh Sanders' "The Creator Has a Master Plan" that represented the group's most adventurous playing of the night.

A take of Horace Silver's "Senor Blues" gave pianist Dave Zoffer, bassist Wes Wirth and drummer Eric Doob time in the spotlight.

The evening closed with a spirited set from the Trent Austin/Tom Snow Quintet. With the exception of powerhouse saxophonist Mike Tucker, the players in this ensemble are well-known to local audiences.

Austin and Tucker formed a strong trumpet/sax frontline on the opening tune, Tucker's "Fanfare," a piece that lived up to its name with its declaration of the joys of hard-bop jazz. Tucker was particularly strong on a version of Mal Waldron's "Soul Eyes," a tune associated with John Coltrane.

Snow, a Yarmouth native, manned the electronic piano. Jim Lyden played bass, with Les Harris Jr. on drums.

Austin, on flugelhorn, showed a softer side on a Kenny Wheeler-inspired original before the band went nuts on a gumbo version of "Caravan" that had the large crowd swaying.

The series, which benefits church programs, returns June 10 with the Mark Kleinhaut Trio.

Steve Feeney is a free-lance writer who lives in Portland.